Charlie Bird was overcome with emotion as his famous friends and family gathered together to celebrate the launch of his new book last night.
The veteran RTE broadcaster, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in October 2021, has released a new book titled ‘Climb With Charlie’ to commemorate in words and images the moving day in which he was joined by thousands on his climb of Croagh Patrick.
And Dublin’s landmark bookshop Hodges Figgis was packed with laughter and tears on Wednesday evening, as his RTE pals Ryan Tubridy and George Lee led the event as MC’s of the night.
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Speaking, alongside his beloved wife Claire, an emotional Charlie said he has been blown away by the support he has received since going public with his diagnoses, as he revealed they have now raised over 3 million euro.
He said: “People keep coming up and telling me I am an inspiration. Well for me the real inspiration are the people from all over Ireland and abroad, who extended the hand of friendship and have supported the Climb with Charlie project.”
“When we started working on this whole project and the volunteers where coming on board to help me, and especially when we set up the I donate website, in the back of my mind I was hoping that if the gods were smiling on us ,we might just reach a half a million Euro.
“Then as more and more climbs were being announced right across the country and abroad, I felt more confident that we might reach the target of One Million euro.
“Indeed I have to admit that I had some sleepless nights worrying that the weather would be bad on the day of the climb down on Croagh Patrick.
“Each evening I would look up the climbwithcharlie website and see the running total of money being raised was going up and up.
“Well now we have reached the grant total of money raised at just over three and a quarter of a million euro.
“Yes you have heard me correctly three million euro and another quarter of a million euro and there is still a few more euro to come in before we wind down this phase of climbwithcharlie.”
"And all of the profits from the book will go to the ClimbwithCharlie fund which hopefully will be formally handed on to the two charities Pieta and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.”
Speaking on the night, Tubridy, who has been a central part of the campaign, told Irish Daily Mirror: “Today is a very special and meaningful day. In some ways this whole thing began on the Late Late Show when Charlie was in a bad way and said ‘I just want to climb a mountain’ and he came in and saw us then after that and he was a different man.
“You could see it in him today, there is joy. The whole thing, it was all meant to be. So it has become a story of great sadness to a story of great joy and today is about joy.”
Daniel O’Donnell, who sang when the group reached the top of the mountain in April, also joined Charlie and the crew on stage and imparted some moving words about their new friendship.
He told us: “He just has made such an impression on everybody. And we know Charlie Bird for years as the correspondent for RTE and we have hung on his stories down through the years and as I said that day on Croagh Patrick, no story he has ever brought to us was as heartwarming as his own, or made such a difference as his own did.”
“The book is a great way to document what happened on that day, it was an amazing day.”
RTE Liveline’s Joe Duffy, former newsreader Anne Doyle, Director General Dee Forbes, Sean O’Rourke and Room To Improve’s Dermot Bannon were also among the attendees, as well as Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, Defence Forces Chief of Staff, who represented The President on the night.
Vicky Phelan sent a special message of support virtually as she was unable to make it to Dublin for the occasion.
In a video, she said: “Unfortunately I can’t be there for the launch Charlie, as you know we both have our ups and downs with our illnesses and unfortunately for me pain is a huge problem at the moment and travelling, i’m just unable to do it at the moment.
“But I will be with you in spirit, and there with you in spirit, I always am, so I wish you the best, it’s an absolutely amazing book. And it is a fantastic achievement and I urge everyone to go out and buy a copy to make a lot of money for motor neurone disease.”
The new book, published by Merrion Press, features images from that unforgettable day in April, both from Croagh Patrick and the other climbs and walks that took part across the country.
It also features forwards by the Cervical Check campaigner Vicky, as well as Daniel O’Donnell, Ryan Tubridy and Dermot Bannon.
All royalties for the book will go to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta House.
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